Feb. 13, Philadelphia, Miss. / Beech A24R Sierra

At about 06:30 CST, a Beech Sierra went into a ditch and struck a tree during taxi to takeoff at Philadelphia Airport. The pilot suffered minor injuries. The pilot told investigators he had trouble getting the left wing tie down rope through the wing tie down fitting the night before the accident, due to a knot in the rope. Before his departure, he remembered untying the tie down ropes but did not remember struggling with the left tie down rope to get the knotted end back through the fitting. As he applied engine power to begin taxiing, the aircraft jerked. He said he may have pushed the engine throttle further forward as the aircraft jerked. The aircraft turned 180 degrees and he reduced the engine throttle to idle. He did not fully stop the aircraft and became distracted by the landing gear in transit light, which had illuminated. The aircraft continued to move forward and went into a ditch and collided with a tree.